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Australia halts transfers to Afghan jail

Australia has again halted transfers of battlefield detainees to the Afghan-run detention facility in Tarin Kowt following allegations of prisoner abuse.

Australian officials were informed of two allegations of mistreatment of detainees at the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) facility in Tarin Kowt in March.

The allegations do not involve detainees apprehended by Australian soldiers.

"We received what we regarded as significant complaints of mistreatment, ill-treatment, treatment below the standard that should be afforded," Defence Minister Stephen Smith told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

Earlier, in an update to parliament on detainee management, Mr Smith said Australian officials had raised concerns about conduct at the NDS facility with Afghan authorities, Afghan and international human rights bodies and with the International Security Assistance Force.

He personally raised the matter with Afghan foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul during his visit to Canberra in March.

"Afghan authorities advise they are taking these allegations seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation which is ongoing," he told parliament.

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Mr Smith said Australian troops captured 1898 suspected insurgents between August 1, 2010, and May 15, 2013.

Under current practices, detainees are initially screened at an Australian-run facility at the main base in Tarin Kowt.

If there's insufficient evidence for prosecution, the person is released. Those assessed as posing a serious threat are transferred to the major detention facility in Parwan Province, initially run by the US but now by Afghan authorities.

Those posing a lesser risk were formerly sent to the NDS facility in Tarin Kowt.

In July 2011, Australia first ceased prisoner transfers to the NDS facility.

A subsequent United Nations investigation found no evidence of torture or mistreatment of inmates in Tarin Kowt but did find compelling evidence of torture at other Afghan-run detention centres.

Mr Smith said he was aware of reports citing complaints by detainees captured by Australian soldiers and held in the US facility at Bagram.

The complaints included humiliating public searches of groin and buttocks areas, as well as poor food and cold cells.

Mr Smith said the complaints did not fall within the type of accusations which prompted Australia to suspend transfers to the NDS facility.

There was a qualitative difference between complaints about conditions and actual ill-treatment.

"You would find comparable searches occurring in police lockups in every jurisdiction in Australia," the minister said.